Dartboard Lighting

"A good lighting system should effectively light the board evenly and
eliminate any shadow a dart could cast by secondary lighting.’ – David King
Darts501.com"

Circumluminator - The Dartboard Light

To this date I have only seen one commercial lighting solution especially design to light a dart board that eliminates shadow. The lighting system is
called ‘The Circumluminator Dartboard Light. Design in the United States the
Circumluminator does exactly what any dart player would like a dart board light
to do, eliminate shadow.

I first reviewed The Circumluminator in 2005, one of the first 25 to roll off
the production line.My opinion of the light at that time was mixed. The light
did exactly what it said it would do i.e. eliminate shadow. However I was
critical about the overall quality and hence to say i gave my feedback to Scott
Harrison the inventor of the Circumluminator he has since taken on board my my
views and revise the product considerably. Here are the new specification
supplied by Scott. To me it looks like a new product, refined in every aspect:

"The lamp housing is now injection molded of Lexan polycarbonate, and is 5mm
thick throughout. The slotted keyway for mounting the dartboard is substantially
stronger and the plastic springs extending from the back of the lamp housing now
hold the dartboard securely, preventing it from accidental rotation during play.

The custom graphics displayed backlit on the radial face of The Circumluminator
are now printed on heavyweight, glossy photo paper of much higher quality than
the lightweight matte finish paper I used initially.

Graphics are now standard design on the annular outside surface of The
Circumluminator to prevent bright light from escaping from the periphery of The
Circumluminator.

New neon lamp with one made of a special new glass that emits a warm white which
is twice as bright as the early model

The 240 VAC neon transformer is now replaced with a low-voltage 12 VDC one which
fits better in the lamp housing and makes it possible to use a switching 100 -
240 VDC wall plug adapter with changeable blades for worldwide distribution.
This transformer and power supply change achieved another doubling of the
brightness of the lamp adding up to four times the dartboard illumination of the
earlier model

The Foam ring which serves to fill the void between the Dartboard and the lamp
housing is now die cut quarter circles which I glue securely together with a
protruding handle glued to one of the joints for ease of removal. "

Scott Harrison

All the criticisms I initially wrote about the early Circumluminator seemed to
have been addressed and the new graphic Scott has sent me seems to demonstrates
the new Circumluminator is the dartboard light to have. (Picture Circumluminator
Tynte Hotel , South Wales)

As far as innovation goes we don’t tend to see many radical dart improvements
however this is one. For more information where you can see buy and see a
Circumluminator please visit their website.

Ok, the Circumluminator is the only dartboard light designed for purpose. So
what else is being used.

A basic set up is a single spot light either fixed to the wall, ceiling of dart
stand. This lights the board and is set up is most common in clubs, pubs and
home setups. If you opt for this try using a high wattage bulb fitting and bulb
100w. Example of this can been seen to the left.

Tournament setups

Tournament dart board lighting is pretty standard but could be better, here is
an example. The illustration shows the distribution of light, the bulb is
focused on the twenty segment to the determent of the rest of the board. This is
normal practice but it clearly shows the limitations of using just one bulb to
light the board.

Another way to help reduce shadow, although, this will not entirely eliminate
shadow is to have a few spots lights focused of the board from either side I.e.
left, right and middle. This can easily be achieved by using on of the
commercially available strip spot light set-ups as below.

The cross lighting reduces shadow strength and makes for a much better lighting
option than a single bulb.
Available from good DIY and lighting shops.